Data / Number of cattle / Netherlands

Number of cattle in Netherlands

Number of cattle in the Netherlands was 3,562,000 head in 2024, according to Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. That is down 4.7% from 2023. That is the 7th highest of 27 EU countries in 2024.

2024, head3,562,000
Change on 2023-4.7%
Rank7th of 27EU countries ranked
Series high5,516,2431984
Series low3,465,0001971

Next release: Thursday, 31 December 2026, estimated by Invokely from past publication dates (low confidence), not announced by the publisher. Release calendar

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Number of cattle in Netherlands, 1961 to 2024

3M3.5M4M4.5M5M5.5M6M19611971198119912001201120241961: 3,622,588 head1962: 3,816,942 head1963: 3,695,185 head1964: 3,567,379 head1965: 3,750,629 head1966: 3,968,471 head1967: 4,029,806 head1968: 4,116,287 head1969: 3,694,000 head1970: 3,679,000 head1971: 3,465,000 head1972: 3,748,000 head1973: 4,111,000 head1974: 4,666,000 head1975: 4,714,000 head1976: 4,606,000 head1977: 4,528,000 head1978: 4,673,000 head1979: 4,797,000 head1980: 5,225,857 head1981: 5,191,497 head1982: 5,240,687 head1983: 5,410,889 head1984: 5,516,243 head1985: 5,247,651 head1986: 5,122,950 head1987: 4,894,841 head1988: 4,546,000 head1989: 4,772,000 head1990: 4,926,000 head1991: 5,062,000 head1992: 4,920,000 head1993: 4,797,000 head1994: 4,716,000 head1995: 4,654,000 head1996: 4,557,000 head1997: 4,411,000 head1998: 4,283,000 head1999: 4,206,000 head2000: 4,070,000 head2001: 4,047,000 head2002: 3,858,000 head2003: 3,759,000 head2004: 3,767,000 head2005: 3,799,000 head2006: 3,749,000 head2007: 3,763,000 head2008: 3,890,000 head2009: 3,967,600 head2010: 3,975,190 head2011: 3,885,350 head2012: 3,879,250 head2013: 3,999,220 head2014: 4,169,000 head2015: 4,315,000 head2016: 4,294,000 head2017: 4,030,000 head2018: 3,690,000 head2019: 3,721,000 head2020: 3,691,000 head2021: 3,705,000 head2022: 3,751,000 head2023: 3,739,000 head2024: 3,562,000 head3M4M5M6M19611983200520241961: 3,622,588 head1962: 3,816,942 head1963: 3,695,185 head1964: 3,567,379 head1965: 3,750,629 head1966: 3,968,471 head1967: 4,029,806 head1968: 4,116,287 head1969: 3,694,000 head1970: 3,679,000 head1971: 3,465,000 head1972: 3,748,000 head1973: 4,111,000 head1974: 4,666,000 head1975: 4,714,000 head1976: 4,606,000 head1977: 4,528,000 head1978: 4,673,000 head1979: 4,797,000 head1980: 5,225,857 head1981: 5,191,497 head1982: 5,240,687 head1983: 5,410,889 head1984: 5,516,243 head1985: 5,247,651 head1986: 5,122,950 head1987: 4,894,841 head1988: 4,546,000 head1989: 4,772,000 head1990: 4,926,000 head1991: 5,062,000 head1992: 4,920,000 head1993: 4,797,000 head1994: 4,716,000 head1995: 4,654,000 head1996: 4,557,000 head1997: 4,411,000 head1998: 4,283,000 head1999: 4,206,000 head2000: 4,070,000 head2001: 4,047,000 head2002: 3,858,000 head2003: 3,759,000 head2004: 3,767,000 head2005: 3,799,000 head2006: 3,749,000 head2007: 3,763,000 head2008: 3,890,000 head2009: 3,967,600 head2010: 3,975,190 head2011: 3,885,350 head2012: 3,879,250 head2013: 3,999,220 head2014: 4,169,000 head2015: 4,315,000 head2016: 4,294,000 head2017: 4,030,000 head2018: 3,690,000 head2019: 3,721,000 head2020: 3,691,000 head2021: 3,705,000 head2022: 3,751,000 head2023: 3,739,000 head2024: 3,562,000 head
head. Source: FAOSTAT, Production: Crops and livestock products (QCL): Cattle, stocks, head (item 866, element 5111). Retrieved 2026-10-12, published 2025-12-31.
All 64 values
Periodhead
20243,562,000
20233,739,000
20223,751,000
20213,705,000
20203,691,000
20193,721,000
20183,690,000
20174,030,000
20164,294,000
20154,315,000
20144,169,000
20133,999,220
20123,879,250
20113,885,350
20103,975,190
20093,967,600
20083,890,000
20073,763,000
20063,749,000
20053,799,000
20043,767,000
20033,759,000
20023,858,000
20014,047,000
20004,070,000
19994,206,000
19984,283,000
19974,411,000
19964,557,000
19954,654,000
19944,716,000
19934,797,000
19924,920,000
19915,062,000
19904,926,000
19894,772,000
19884,546,000
19874,894,841
19865,122,950
19855,247,651
19845,516,243
19835,410,889
19825,240,687
19815,191,497
19805,225,857
19794,797,000
19784,673,000
19774,528,000
19764,606,000
19754,714,000
19744,666,000
19734,111,000
19723,748,000
19713,465,000
19703,679,000
19693,694,000
19684,116,287
19674,029,806
19663,968,471
19653,750,629
19643,567,379
19633,695,185
19623,816,942
19613,622,588

Netherlands compared with nearby places

Austria: 1,820,030 headBelgium: 2,153,430 headBulgaria: 558,770 headCyprus: 82,680 headCzechia: 1,397,410 headGermany: 10,461,290 headDenmark: 1,413,860 headEstonia: 232,390 headSpain: 6,173,960 headFinland: 764,030 headFrance: 16,478,260 headGreece: 595,200 headCroatia: 422,000 headHungary: 869,900 headIreland: 6,308,300 headItaly: 5,765,000 headLithuania: 599,770 headLuxembourg: 180,530 headLatvia: 352,090 headMalta: 13,800 headNetherlands: 3,562,000 headPoland: 6,190,930 headPortugal: 1,486,910 headRomania: 1,809,400 headSweden: 1,333,820 headSlovenia: 453,890 headSlovakia: 416,680 head
  • Under 400K
  • 400K to 700K
  • 700K to 1.5M
  • 1.5M to 5.3M
  • 5.3M and over
Number of cattle, 2024, head. Netherlands is outlined. Same source and period for every area shown. Source: Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. Boundaries: Natural Earth (public domain).

Rankings

Definition

Number of cattle (domestic cattle, not buffaloes) present in the country, as published in FAOSTAT's crops and livestock products domain. FAO asks for the count on one day of the year, usually the census or survey date, so the reference day differs between countries.

FAO fills gaps in national reporting with its own estimates and imputations, which are marked as estimated, and revises past years when countries send new figures.

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How to cite

FAO. 2025. FAOSTAT: Production: Crops and livestock products (QCL): Cattle, stocks, head (item 866, element 5111). Accessed on 2026-10-12. https://bulks-faostat.fao.org/production/Production_Crops_Livestock_E_All_Data_%28Normalized%29.zip Licence: CC-BY-4.0. FAO does not endorse Invokely or this use of the data.

Citation styles

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APA 7

Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. (2025). Production: Crops and livestock products (QCL): Cattle, stocks, head (item 866, element 5111) (Number of cattle, Netherlands, 1961 to 2024) [Data set]. Retrieved October 12, 2026, from https://bulks-faostat.fao.org/production/Production_Crops_Livestock_E_All_Data_%28Normalized%29.zip

MLA 9

Production: Crops and livestock products (QCL): Cattle, stocks, head (item 866, element 5111), Number of cattle, Netherlands, 1961 to 2024. Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, 31 Dec. 2025, https://bulks-faostat.fao.org/production/Production_Crops_Livestock_E_All_Data_%28Normalized%29.zip. Invokely, https://invokely.ai/en/cattle-population/netherlands. Accessed 12 Oct. 2026.

Chicago (author-date)

Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. 2025. Production: Crops and livestock products (QCL): Cattle, stocks, head (item 866, element 5111). Number of cattle, Netherlands, 1961 to 2024. Dataset. Accessed October 12, 2026. https://bulks-faostat.fao.org/production/Production_Crops_Livestock_E_All_Data_%28Normalized%29.zip. Also distributed by Invokely, https://invokely.ai/en/cattle-population/netherlands.

Harvard

Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (2025) Production: Crops and livestock products (QCL): Cattle, stocks, head (item 866, element 5111), Number of cattle, Netherlands, 1961 to 2024 [Dataset]. Available at: https://bulks-faostat.fao.org/production/Production_Crops_Livestock_E_All_Data_%28Normalized%29.zip, via Invokely: https://invokely.ai/en/cattle-population/netherlands (Accessed: 12 October 2026).

BibTeX
@misc{food_number_of_cattle_netherlands_2024,
  author = {{Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations}},
  title = {{Production: Crops and livestock products (QCL): Cattle, stocks, head (item 866, element 5111): Number of cattle, Netherlands, 1961 to 2024}},
  year = {2025},
  howpublished = {Data set},
  url = {https://bulks-faostat.fao.org/production/Production_Crops_Livestock_E_All_Data_%28Normalized%29.zip},
  urldate = {2026-10-12},
  note = {Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/en/cattle-population/netherlands. Publisher attribution: FAO. 2025. FAOSTAT: Production: Crops and livestock products (QCL): Cattle, stocks, head (item 866, element 5111). Accessed on 2026-10-12. https://bulks-faostat.fao.org/production/Production\_Crops\_Livestock\_E\_All\_Data\_\%28Normalized\%29.zip Licence: CC-BY-4.0. FAO does not endorse Invokely or this use of the data.},
}
RIS
TY  - DATA
AU  - Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations
TI  - Production: Crops and livestock products (QCL): Cattle, stocks, head (item 866, element 5111): Number of cattle, Netherlands, 1961 to 2024
PY  - 2025
DA  - 2025/12/31
PB  - Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations
DB  - Invokely
UR  - https://bulks-faostat.fao.org/production/Production_Crops_Livestock_E_All_Data_%28Normalized%29.zip
L2  - https://invokely.ai/en/cattle-population/netherlands
Y2  - 2026/10/12
N1  - Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/en/cattle-population/netherlands.
N1  - Publisher attribution: FAO. 2025. FAOSTAT: Production: Crops and livestock products (QCL): Cattle, stocks, head (item 866, element 5111). Accessed on 2026-10-12. https://bulks-faostat.fao.org/production/Production_Crops_Livestock_E_All_Data_%28Normalized%29.zip Licence: CC-BY-4.0. FAO does not endorse Invokely or this use of the data.
ER  -
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Questions

What is the number of cattle in Netherlands?

Number of cattle in the Netherlands was 3,562,000 head in 2024, according to Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. That is down 4.7% from 2023. That is the 7th highest of 27 EU countries in 2024.

Where does this figure come from?

Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. Production: Crops and livestock products (QCL): Cattle, stocks, head (item 866, element 5111). Retrieved by Invokely on 2026-10-12.

What was the highest number of cattle in Netherlands?

5,516,243 head in 1984, the highest value since 1961 in this series.

Number of cattle elsewhere in European Union (27)

Related statistics for Netherlands

All statistics for Netherlands | Netherlands in figures